


Falling Into Rhythm

by 4ce_in_sp4ce



Series: Dancing The Night Away [1]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Arthur is a good dancer, Dancing, M/M, Pining Eames (Inception), Waltzing, and has specific taste in classical music, slightly jealous Eames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:14:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26324725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4ce_in_sp4ce/pseuds/4ce_in_sp4ce
Summary: In which Eames is a little jealous, Arthur is a good dancer, and Cobb is tired of them pining after each other
Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Series: Dancing The Night Away [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931968
Comments: 10
Kudos: 86





	Falling Into Rhythm

**Author's Note:**

> Music does not need language of words for it has movements of dance to do its translation.  
> \- Shah Asad Rizvi

Eames leaned against the bar, sipping his drink. It was just as good as he'd expected it to be- parties like this always had good alcohol- and the floor was fun to watch. Even after over a decade of observing for the sake of his job, people watching had never quite managed to lose its charm for him, and this was a particularly good occasion for it. A room full of rich people with too much money and not enough common sense and current access to an open bar meant he'd undoubtedly be easily entertained all night.

His gaze drifted over to the dance floor. All the couples were moving gracefully to the waltz being played, but he immediately found himself watching Arthur and Ariadne. Mainly Arthur. He was clearly a more experienced dancer than Ariadne was, smiling and laughing as she occasionally stepped on his feet or started to move into the wrong direction. Eames couldn't help but picture Arthur in combat as he watched him; he moved just as quickly and effortlessly with Ariadne as he did in a fight, and Eames had seen Arthur more than hold his own enough times to know the surprising power behind his movements. He watched a moment longer before he looked away and took a drink. Plenty of other things in the room to watch. No need to focus on that.

"You know you can just ask him, right?"

"Hm?" Eames glanced over, surprised. He hadn't heard Cobb come up beside him. "Ask who what?"

"Arthur. To dance. He'd say yes."

Eames frowned and took another drink. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you've been watching him with a mix of wistfulness and jealousy since Ariadne asked him to dance. Not to mention how you’ve been watching him in general the entire evening." Cobb gave him an amused look. "You haven't exactly been subtle about it."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Eames looked out over the room, doing his best to avoid looking at either Cobb or Arthur. "None at all."

"Right." Cobb took a sip of his whiskey, sounding unconvinced.

Despite his best efforts, Eames found his gaze returning to the dance floor before long. Arthur was laughing again, this time at something Ariadne had said, and Eames felt a slight stab of…something in his chest. It almost felt like jealousy, but he refused to give Cobb the satisfaction of calling it that. Arthur was smiling now, leaning in to catching something Ariadne was saying, his hand resting on her waist, and okay maybe Eames was a _little_ jealous. But not _that_ much. And it was fine. Nothing he couldn't handle.

The song ended and Arthur and Ariadne made their way over to the bar, Arthur's arm linked loosely with hers. Cobb raised his glass slightly in greeting. "You two look like you're having a good time."

"I feel a bit bad, honestly, making Arthur go through that entire song with me." Ariadne sighed. "I think I spent at least half that song stepping on you. I should’ve _known_ you’d be a better dancer than me."

Arthur smiled. "At least you know how to count. You wouldn't believe how many people can't even manage that." He motioned to the bartender and leaned against the bar next to Eames. "It's been a while though. I'm getting rusty."

"You know," Cobb's voice was innocent and Eames was immediately on edge. He _never_ sounded that harmless, not unless he was planning something. "If you wanted more practice, I think Eames was thinking of asking you for a dance."

Eames nearly choked on his drink and Arthur looked at him, surprised. "You were?"

"I was just…surprised you were such a good dancer, that's all." He glared at Cobb and hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt. "I'm sure you probably don't want to dance two songs in a row though."

"No, it's fine." Arthur shrugged and it was Eames' turn to look over in surprise. "I mean, if you wanted." He motioned to the string quartet, which had just started a new piece. "This is actually a favourite of mine, so it'd be nice to dance to it."

"Oh." Eames blinked. He hadn't actually thought Arthur would say yes. "Then sure.” He set his drink down and followed Arthur over to where the other couples were dancing, pointedly ignoring Cobb’s smug smile. He was leaning over to say something to Ariadne, and Eames figured it was best not to think too hard on what it might be. 

Arthur paused at the edge of the floor. “Only one of us can lead.”

Eames shrugged. “An underrated perk of being a forger is you end up learning both parts of most dances. You can take lead.”

Arthur smiled. “Perfect.” He took Eames’ hand and led him onto the floor, his other hand settling on Eames’ waist. “That makes things easy then.”

It took Eames a minute to adjust. It had been a while since he’d had reason to waltz, but Arthur was a good lead, guiding him gently but firmly until he’d settled into the rhythm. He focused his gaze on Arthur’s shoulder, figuring that was probably the safest option; his face already felt warm, and he had a feeling eye contact would just make it worse. He searched for something to say. Anything to keep his mind off of how close they were or the feeling of Arthur’s hand on his side. “So this piece is a, um, a favourite of yours?”

“In terms of waltzes, yes.”

Eames frowned, listening to the music more closely. “Don’t think I recognize it.”

“Waltz in A major by Dvořák.” Arthur paused. “I’m a bit surprised they’re playing it, actually. It’s not exactly a common one at things like this.”

Eames chuckled. “You know, I’d make a comment about how of course your favourite waltz is something obscure, but you’re the only person I know who even _has_ a favourite waltz.”

“Oh, this isn’t my _actual_ favourite, just one of them.” Several other couples had joined the dance and Arthur moved closer to give them room, his hand moving around from Eames’ waist to his back slightly. A bit more heat crept into Eames’ cheeks, which he did his best to try and ignore. “My actual favourite is the waltz from Rachmaninoff’s Morceaux de salon, but that one might be a bit hard to dance to.”

“And it just gets more obscure. I’m absolutely _shocked_.”

“Shut up.” Eames could feel him laughing quietly. “I just have good taste.”

Eames grinned. “Well, that’s debatable, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” 

Arthur laughed a bit harder at that. “How unbelievably kind of you.”

“What can I say? I’m a very gracious man.” Arthur moved even closer as another couple joined, their chests only a few inches apart now. Eames was glad he was close enough that Arthur likely couldn’t see his face anymore. Between the proximity and the fact that Arthur’s hand was now resting on his lower back, Eames knew full well he was blushing quite a bit. He moved his own hand down from Arthur’s upper arm and onto his back to accommodate the lack of space, resting it between his shoulder blades. It was nice being this close, even though he knew he’d never hear the end of it from Cobb.

“You’re actually quite good at this.” Arthur’s voice was far closer to his ear than Eames expected, and he did his best to keep the slight shiver that ran down his spine from being noticeable. “Certainly more graceful than I would’ve given you credit for.”

“I can’t tell if you’re complimenting me or insulting me.”

Arthur squeezed his hand lightly. “I meant it as a compliment.”

Eames returned the squeeze after a moment, his face decidedly burning now. “Then thank you.” They lapsed into silence, broken by the occasionally quiet laugh as Arthur maneuvered them out of the way of other couples who had either had a bit too much to drink or simply weren’t very good at dancing. Eames wasn’t sure which and he honestly didn’t really care. It was enough that Arthur kept him from running into them, the grip and pressure of his hands shifting slightly to indicate where they needed to go. He really was a very good dancer, and as much as Eames wanted to be mad at Cobb about getting him into this in the first place, this was _nice_. The feeling of Arthur’s slightly calloused fingers on the back of Eames’ hand, the gentle pressure of his other hand against his lower back, the easy confidence in his movements as he guided both of them around the floor, all of it felt wonderful. Cobb would _definitely_ never let him live this down- and, honestly, Ariadne and Yusuf probably wouldn’t either- but it was worth it.

They slowed to a halt as the music ended, but it was a moment before Arthur pulled back. Even when he did his hand lingered on Eames’ hip briefly and he didn’t quite let go of Eames’ hand. He was looking down slightly, not meeting Eames’ eyes, and Eames was relieved to see that he wasn’t the only one blushing. “Thanks for the dance.”

“Yeah.” Eames smiled, looking down as well. “Let me know if they play any other weird, obscure waltzes you like.” He gave a small shrug. “I wouldn’t mind another dance or two.”

Arthur smiled back. “Neither would I.”

**Author's Note:**

> it occurred to me the other day that Arthur seems like the sort of person who would be a good dancer, and the thought refused to leave me. this was literally just an excuse for me to be able to write them dancing together. that's it


End file.
